‘Football is about memories’ - Why Michael Owen doesn’t want second Premier League winners’ medal as FFP case sparks Man City title-stripping discussion

City, who have seen a distracting saga drag on for over three-and-a-half years, maintain that they have done nothing wrong and have lodged appeals against the guilty verdicts that were delivered by an independent commission.

They do, however, stand accused by the Premier League of having conducted “sham” business between the years of 2009 and 2018. It was during that period that the foundations of a modern day sporting dynasty were built at the Etihad Stadium.

Having got a taste for major silverware, City are now eight-time Premier League title winners with a Champions League victory and several domestic cup wins on the most glittering of CVs. Was said success achieved by legal means and will the toughest of punishments be handed out?

Those questions are yet to be answered, but many are happy to keep speculating on what could happen. From top-flight expulsion to points deductions and transfer embargoes, any number of sanctions could be imposed on a club that has spent heavily on chasing the dream.

If City are deemed to have broken the rules, with a form of ‘cheating’ allowing regular open-top bus parades to be arranged, then their achievements could be erased from the history books.

If that were to be the case, then past victories may be reassigned. Such a scenario remains unlikely, with those potentially in line for retrospective accolades not particularly keen on seeing charitable additions made to their respective trophy cabinets.

Asked about title-stripping having formed part of United’s squad in 2011-12 that were pipped to the post by City and Sergio Aguero’s iconic last-gasp goal on the final day of the season, Owen - who was speaking as ambassador of Casino.org, where UK players can find reliable online casino information - told GOAL: “It depends on what they get found guilty of, if they get found guilty, of course.

“They have been found guilty so far, but obviously there's an appeal. It's very hard to say because there's six, seven, eight different scenarios that you could talk about. You could talk about stripping titles, you could talk about fines, you could talk about transfer bans, you could talk about relegation, about points deduction. There's so many different ways that you could punish them.

“If they've broken the rules to the extent that we're hearing, then of course there's going to be a big, big punishment. You can't break the rules and get away with it. You can't break the rules like they reportedly have and just get a slap on the wrist. It's going to be significant.

“I think I'd be entitled to an extra league medal if that was the case, but it wouldn't feel like it. To me, football is about memories and not 10, 15, 20 years later getting handed something. It's about that moment and then you get a medal, but that medal only takes you back to that moment and how you felt.

“That's how I feel about it. Everyone's different. I'm not one of those people wishing anything bad on others to gain myself. In my mind, I won what I won and I'm not bothered about anything now.

“It's a sad situation, but it's one that I think is going to still drag for a fair while. Everybody's getting all giddy and excited and all down and depressed or whatever, but this is going to take a long, long time, I think. So it's going to drag in my opinion. So obviously we're just going to have to wait and see.”

Ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Owen did win the Premier League with United in 2010-11. His career also delivered FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Ballon d’Or triumphs, giving him enough happy memories to look back on.

City’s case will continue to generate lively debate, though, with it yet to be determined what the past, present and future will look like for them. A definitive ruling is supposed to be delivered by the end of January 2027, although more appeals could be lodged at that stage.